Readings and Realizations
by goddessa39
Summary: Early S6. Starting with the meeting, B?A reunite with a little understanding from the scoobies and a little goodness. :


Title: Readings and Realizations

Author: Goddessa39

Emails: Before the meeting…

Summary: Tara's POV when Buffy gets Angel's call.

Timeline: S6

Pairing: BA

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the fic itself.

Feedback: Please. I need my reason for writing- your ideas and me knowing my work is read.

Rating: (May change. But I cannot write NC-17.)

Notes: none

Changes: minor. No Connor… yet.

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Tara's thoughts when it isn't her POV in the main 'view.'

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Tara's POV

I was sitting in the front room going over damage with the others when the phone rang. Willow started to get up, but Buffy was already there. I didn't see what the deal was, so I concentrated on reading her aura to try and figure out why she hurried to the phone. I didn't know if she was getting jumpy or what. Plus, I felt that I needed to watch it for change.

I looked and saw the fuzzy color that she was ever since she came back. I suppose she is conflicted now because of being in Hell. And then it slowly grouped to colors the nearer she got to the phone.

It was weird to see something like that. Not many would even believe it. But then, not many would believe in rapidly changing auras either, let alone auras. That was something else that she had over others.

When we heard the click of the phone, I watched, fascinated, as the ethereal being of Buffy changed, as if it was never fuzzy and fading around the edges. It was suddenly somewhat clearer, clearer then I had ever seen out of the girl, woman, and slayer.

She was always a little mixed up, but I never told anyone or confronted her about it. But I could feel the mental and magical shields and barriers that she had up around her, whether she knew it or not. The others seemed oblivious, so I never said anything.

There was some talking for less then a minute, and I watched, enraptured by the changes.

The phone was back on the hook and Buffy ran in; I could see difference in her face even. She seemed brighter, like she couldn't wait for something.

"T-that was Angel. H-h-he knows. I have to go see him… Now."

She rushes out. She grabs her jacket and is out the door before Giles could say anything about bills or waiting. And I can't help the small smile that plays over me as she rushes. Her soul, and her body language, was screaming in anticipation for something that I don't know.

"Who's Angel?" Anya asks.

Xander groans and rolls her eyes. Then Willow, Giles, and Xander, with Dawn adding side notes that make it more surreal; tell us the story of their romance. I don't see how we never heard this. Anya is seemingly enraptured by this. All of us girls in here are romantics, and are basically fawning over the story of love that Xander seems not to grasp.

Half an hour later, they finish with telling us about the 'Acathla Incident.'

Anya jumps up at that. "A-Acathla?" she squeaks out in askance.

Xander nods his head, not knowing with the rest of us. "Why?"

"I-I got called over after that. I was even going grant more then one wish. You have no idea how the pain, the self-hatred, the love that radiated off of her!" she said. She had her eyes wide though, and none of us had a clue of what she was talking about. But I could see that she was shaken by something.

A tear dropped out of her eye then, shocking us all. Anya never cried, or showed sad emotion, except for certain deaths. Something clicked in her head though.

"I was going to go grant a wish, but I ended up in some mansion, which I really want by the way, I, There was someone who was basically dying on the ground. I…" she paused as she realized it. Her eyes got even wider if that was possible. "I think it was Buffy that was on the g-ground." Everyone was openly crying and/or staring now.

I had to speak up though. "Uhm, you guys." They turned toward me and I had to focus not to blush under the attention. "Uhm, I can astral project, and see what they're doing…" I said. Now I blushed and started to stutter. "N-Never m-m-m-mind. That would invade their privacy and…" I was really blushing now.

"No, Tara." Giles said. He sighed and spoke. "I think that would actually be a good idea." The others, with me, all looked at him. They didn't get it, but Giles always had a reason. I didn't know it, but I just wanted to see what her 'insides' looked like with him. The way her soul was focused more, and yearning for something that I couldn't know of.

Giles looked at me, and my fading blush started again. "I think that would be a good idea, as long as we wouldn't tell them, or interfere with their, uhm" he rubbed his glasses more, having pulled them out soon after Buffy left, and then again when Anya started speaking. He seemed to do that a lot. "With their meeting."

"Reunion." Said a sighing voice of a teenager that just happened to be a 'Key.' We looked at her, and I could see a dreamy look that I had seen on the other Summers girl often, but never really gave it any mind.

"What?" My girlfriend asked.

"Reunion. I know my sister, and she can be stubborn. But she is really needy, even more so then when Mom died." There was a pause for remembrance of Mrs. Summers. She was a nice lady. "But the only thing keeping them apart is the fact that Angel can be really noble, even though nothing turns out right… normal life- pft!" Dawn said again as she huffed a 'pft' sound with annoyance. It seemed me and Anya were the only ones who didn't really know what was going on. Even Dawn knew something.

There was another silence as they all looked towards me again. They were urging me on, and I sighed. I wanted to do this, but it would take some concentration.

Willow helped me into a state of quiet and peace while the others got comfortable for a long wait. I let my spirit flow over and found Buffy's. She was in her mom's jeep, and headed fast towards somewhere. I am very happy there was no traffic because, at the rate she was going, there's sure to be a crash.

Her soul was like, reaching out to somewhere. And it made a little sense now. /"Somewhere in the middle."/ she had said. I had watched her sleep one night and had been amazed at the million different emotions that even tried to show their faces. Hate, pain, knowledge, sadness, regret, need. Love. I hadn't seen half of what I had then in the normal days.

The look on her face though when she woke showed none of what I had seen, save love for us, her family.

As my spirit soared overhead, she stopped at a cliff on a beach. There was a large area overlooking the blue wide ocean, and the sand was warm, despite the sun that was setting.

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The jeep pulled up to the side of the road where no other car seemed to be coming near. There was an area of stillness that contrasted to the way Buffy herself seemed, to what her aura was projecting to Tara. I don't see how anyone could be the calm with conflicting waves.

Buffy stepped out into the beach and took her sandals off after she got as comfortable as she could in the middle of the sand. She held her sandals in her hands with the jacket he had given her so long ago around her. She hugged herself, and waited for his arrival.

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I followed the call to and from Buffy, finding a red convertible driving just as fast as the jeep had, only this one held an ensouled vampire, and was dodging traffic with ease. When she saw the mixed, conflicting aura of who she guessed was Angel, she frowned. She had never seen the vampire before, yet she knew that the look of his own aura was so like Buffy's that she would have gasped if she could.

As the red car sped down the road, finally losing traffic near the second exit, it neared the beach. The sun was finally setting, and the darkened windows didn't let any actual light in.

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As he exited the car, she remained staring at the ocean. Buffy didn't turn to greet him. She continued to stare at the waves. I found it eerie.

When she did turn, it seemed to wash over Angel, and he was in front of her in a mere moment. But he did not touch her and she did not touch him. They were a centimeter or so apart, and they simply stared. A few moments later though, his hand rose shakily and cupped her chin with a sad smile. He was glad to see her, and I guess the sadness in his eyes was for the fact that she was gone.

The fire between them was easily seen, and something new to me. It built on the highest peaks of what it already was until it spiraled down and they were kissing madly. She wrapped her legs around him and dragged him down with her. Their clothes were torn off and… well, I exited before I saw too much.

When I returned to my body the rest of the way, they were looking at me expectantly. I was going to panic- 'What about the clause?'- But I remembered the man's heart beat and blushed furiously at what I had already seen. Questions flew at me as my face got redder and redder, but I'm pretty sure all I did was stutter out nonsense.

"What are they doing?" Dawn asked. There was a silence for a moment as I registered what I saw, and froze. Then I jumped off and tried to get the small pictures out of my head. It was then that it started to make sense to the others.

"What about the clause?" Xander asked aloud, sounding somewhat disgusted.

I managed to sneak something out that they heard before running to my room and slamming the door in embarrassment. "Heartbeat!" That seemed to clarify things out fine.

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Weeks later, Buffy already had the mansion refurbished and had moved us all into it. We were keeping the Summers House, but everyone was moving in to the mansion. Giles and Dawn were reassured with the fact that the walls were soundproof.

Everyone was happy with the rooms, and even AI was moving in. Angel's championship had ended with Buffy's death, but he had gotten to keep the vampiric perks. Cordy's own visions were now of Sunnydale, and Lorne couldn't wait to move Caritas to Sunnydale. He was reassured with the fact that we could put various spells on the place against violence and make it neutral.

Cordy moved into the place with Gru and Fred with Wesley. Buffy was happy to note that Gunn was also moving in with her old friend Lily. The others were a little saddened to note that Buffy had never told them what went on in LA when she ran away. She told them that it was a bad time, she had finally repressed most of the Angel-in-Hell phase, and it wasn't anything big.

Angel and Giles replied to the fact that she went to hell, while Willow and Xander were vocal about the fact that she got ran over by a car, and demanded the tale. She told edited parts as to not bring back any horrific memories. Spike also moved in, even though Angel protested. Buffy knew he would protect Dawn. She had a guess to the future with Spike, and although she didn't like it, she accepted it.

She was also reassured with all of the firepower they all put together, because 9 months after her reunion with her soul mate, Liam Alex Rupert Summers, Elizabeth Willin Taris Summers, and Kathy Kendra Anyette Faith Cecilia were welcomed home from the hospital. With the newborns happily settled in, Buffy also welcomed Faith home. They had their differences, but they were sisters at the core. The past was of the past. She replied with the same when it came out that she was in heaven, not hell.

The four scoobies that were in her resurrection were extremely guilty. She told them that it was very stupid of them, but though she missed her heaven and those she loved that had passed on, she liked this heaven much more. At that, she looked towards her husband, they had gotten married within a month of their reunion with us all there, Giles to walk her down the aisle, on the beach, and her children.

I looked down at Willow's own and my own extending bellies. Oz sat behind us. He had made it back for the wedding, and we were a union the three of us. We all loved one another equally as lovers. We would have two knew additions soon.

The PTBs had announced that Jenny would be coming back, she was not to have died, and Giles and her married soon after that. The ghostly dead also had invitations to the wedding.

Oh come on! It's Sunnydale. Of course there would be loving ghosts at the wedding.

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5 years after our daughters' and son's birth, here we are. There are 28 on us, 30 within the next month, in this one mansion, and we couldn't be happier. There is plenty more room, and the fights are the normal things. We have our everyday baddies, but those are simply the fledglings and demons that get cocky. But all of the evil with any common sense has stayed away, far out of our range, and we don't have nearly as many apocalypses.

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Giles POV

Hospitalizations of the abnormal are few and far between, and no one has died since Buffy came back from heaven to be with the rest of her family. Do you really think the PTBs would let anyone resurrect just anybody for no reason? This is her gift, our gift, the reward of warriors and champions. 'Cause indeed, this is what prophecies and apocalypses are made of; that and family. To the bloody lot of us.

I have to say that I enjoy playing 'Grandpa.' I have played, and continue filling, the part of 'Dad.' They even call me "Dad" or "Daddy" in public sometimes. Yes, we are weird, strange, and well, crazy. But we're family. Once my second biological child, my first was a boy and this is a girl, comes into the world, we'll continue being a family.

Our only 'what ifs' are the ends to this groups' parents. But how likely is it that they will all suddenly turn their attentions to these wonderful saviors? I know that my own father won't come down off of his pedestal in the Council to do anything, and I hope they never do but to be thrown back on their own asses. That's all they ever did. Although, I wouldn't mind beating all of the fathers and mothers, save Joyce, of my 'children.'

I just hope that it continues to go well for us all.

(End of POV)

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And it did. Giles died of old age at 104. He was the first death. One-by-one, they died peacefully, their spouse(s) dying shortly thereafter. Last to die of the scoobies was Angel and Buffy. In one night, they died in their black silk bed in the master bedroom of the mansion. They departed together and with smiles on their faces. Their original and newer modern Claudaigh rings were on their fingers, with all of their precious things around them in memory.

And I am happy to say that none of them had to bury their children after Giles buried Buffy the first time. (Or second depending on how you think of it.) And any pain in the world had nothing to do with the 'Scooby Gang' and the 'Scooby Family' from then on. Unless of course they were pummeling demons or something. 'Cause of course they would rather carry on their ancestors' legacy/legacies of saving the world. Besides, 'normal' is a relative term, and so very overrated….

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Idea

Buffy's memories enter the gang's dreams and nightmares, causing them to reunite her with her soul mate.


End file.
